The Takeaway: Would Hamas complicate US plans for reset with Palestinians? Also: the back story on the spat between Israel and Jordan; Gulf post-COVID economic trends; Turkey’s Kurds; Egypt and Somalia; and more! Originals
Egypt sentences activist Sanaa Seif to 18 months in prison Seif, who had been in pretrial detention since June, was convicted Wednesday of spreading false news and misusing social media. Egypt
Ukraine rejects Iran's final report on downed passenger plane The Iranian government said last year's shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was the result of a human error. Iran
Palestinians receive first batch of vaccines through COVAX More than 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestine
Iranian directors see little respite despite support for Rouhani Despite their support for moderate President Hassan Rouhani, Iranian film directors remain under the same kind of pressure from the authorities they faced during earlier administrations. Iran
No safety in exile as Turkish dissidents attacked abroad Relentless social media harassment of Turkish dissidents abroad has now transformed into death threats and physical assault. Turkey
Ankara might be awaiting Russian OK for Afrin operation Although Turkey keeps signaling an imminent operation against Afrin in northern Syria, it appears Moscow hasn’t yet given the green light. Syria
Iconic lawmaker's ouster a gloomy deja vu for Turkey The crackdown on the Kurdish political movement in Turkey has caught up with iconic politician Leyla Zana, who lost her parliamentary seat for the second time in 25 years. Turkey
Israel’s first mobile museum brings pop-up culture to forgotten town ZUMU, a roving project of art installations and community outreach, will spend one month in the hard-knock Israeli town of Yeruham, where most children have never visited a museum. Israel
Fearing aid slash, PA to collect more customs duties The Palestinian Ministry of Finance is increasing customs duties on a range of goods, allegedly to protect local production, in light of a budget deficit of $1.07 billion in 2017 and threats of a drop in international aid to the PA. Palestine
Controversy ensues in Egypt over Sisi's use of religious endowments President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is discussing the option of investing religious endowment assets in national development projects to promote the economy, although some point to issues of this action's legality. Egypt
Israeli nationalists' messiah complex The political leaders of Israel's settler sector are abusing Judaism, a dangerous weapon in irresponsible hands. Palestine
Israeli female pilot raises rabbis’ ire Efforts by extremist rabbis to undermine the historic achievement of Major T., the first woman appointed squadron commander in the Israeli air force, is evidence of the panic they feel. Israel
Abbas' security coordination challenge The Palestinian Central Council called for ending security coordination with Israel in response to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but it is a move the Palestinian leadership can hardly afford to make. Palestine
Egypt seeks donations to finish, maintain museum The Egyptian government has launched a fundraising campaign to complete Giza's Grand Egyptian Museum, work that has been delayed for more than two decades. Egypt
Anbar governor thanks PMUs, tells them to get out The new governor of Anbar province faces critical challenges regarding providing services to the recently liberated area from the Islamic State and dealing with the Shiite Popular Mobilization Units coming from outside the province. Iraq
